#networking

#networking

Founders don't scale alone. They scale by learning from peers, building at the same pace, connecting with those who have already been there, and meeting investors aligned with what they're building. On June 23 in Boston, TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 brings together 1,100 founders and investors for a day focused entirely on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Tickets are now live at the lowest price of the year.

Search beyond major job engines by using niche job boards, Google X‑ray searches, industry trade directories, company filings, supplier and client lists, local business registers, conference speaker lists, and professional association directories; cross-reference these sources, build a prioritized spreadsheet, and set email or RSS alerts to track when small employers post trainee or entry-level opportunities, and monitor sector-specific hashtags and community Slack/Discord channels for unadvertised roles.

Kopps Coiffure, a salon in Davos, is a popular spot for professional women during WEF. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting brings together business, government, and media leaders in Davos. Kopps is a go-to for seasoned attendees who know that every moment during Davos is a networking opportunity.

Where success is concerned-in whatever way you choose to define success-effort matters. So does skill. Experience. Perseverance. A willingness to do what others will not. And a little bit of luck: A study published in Physics and Society found that while some degree of talent is necessary to be successful in life, "almost never do the most talented people reach the highest peaks of success, being overtaken by mediocre but sensibly luckier individuals."

"It wasn't about finding happiness. It wasn't about chasing success," Serhant told Fortune.

These events, also called retreats, bring colleagues together for a mix of structured activities and free time - freeing them from their regular work obligations. For one or two days, employees take a mandatory break from their normal routines at work and at home. Participants spend a lot of that time making small talk with colleagues, as well as engaging in structured interactions that may include awkward icebreakers.

These events, also called retreats, bring colleagues together for a mix of structured activities and free time - freeing them from their regular work obligations. For one or two days, employees take a mandatory break from their normal routines at work and at home. Participants spend a lot of that time making small talk with colleagues, as well as engaging in structured interactions that may include awkward icebreakers.

Anna Lundstrom, now at the helm of Nespresso's U.K. and Ireland operations, once strutted in the world of high-end fashion with Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci on her résumé. In an industry notorious for its cutthroat competition and nepotistic tendencies, landing a job at just one of these fashion powerhouses would be the realization of a lifelong dream for many. Yet, the reality is that the world of couture often remains elusive for the average job seeker.

Early in my career, I found conferences to be so overwhelming that I'd sometimes just hide in the bathroom, go into an anxious spiral of fear and guilt, and then try to convince myself to get out and talk to at least one person. Watching how other people seemed to enjoy these events and easily talk to everyone made me think something was wrong with me.

Clustering with friends can lead to excessive drinking, and with that comes danger to your health and safety. Staying with your pals or people you work closely with also means you won't broaden your circle of colleagues and that you just might miss an opportunity to get to know someone who could influence your career. Hanging out with people you know often leads to banter about how terrible the party is and how much you dislike these holiday events.

Modern software companies no longer run on a single cloud; they're spread across dozens of specialized providers, from AI platforms to data warehouses to edge networks. This fragmentation creates a problem: today's developers grew up building apps in the cloud, but most lack the network engineering skills needed to securely connect all these different services together. The capabilities that tech giants spent years building - private network connections, global infrastructure, and sophisticated traffic routing - remain out of reach for smaller teams.

This is a free Local Group meetup You don't have to be a member to attend. What are Local Groups? Local Groups will expand your career network-whether you are interested in learning new skills, finding job opportunities or looking for a new employee. A Local Group is a group of people who, like you, are passionate about design. Local Groups organize meetings to get inspired, have fun and learn from one another.

Networking can feel vague and overwhelming. You're told to "make connections" and "put yourself out there," but what does that actually mean? Sending your resume into the black hole of an online job portal is a losing game. The ultimate cheat code to bypass the line and land directly in the "yes" pile is a referral. And the data proves it. According to industry reports from Zippia, referred candidates are 4 times more likely to be hired than other applicants.

I usually find conferences pretty soul-sucking: hotel conference rooms, fluorescent lighting, bad food. Trying to snatch a few moments of conversation with friends or colleagues while organizers remind you to clear the hallway and join the official sessions. Sitting in the back of a large ballroom, laptop out, sneaking in a little work while people disguise their own mini-talks as questions for the speaker.

Produced by The Legaltech Fund, the first venture capital firm devoted exclusively to legal tech, it is a conference I previously dubbed the Davos of legal tech for the fact that it brings together leaders from across disciplines to engage in open and unfettered dialogue about the state and future of legal innovation. As someone who has attended all four summits, I've had a front-row seat to its evolution.

As a young associate in what my son likes to call "the last Century," every time I would walk into a courtroom with the great litigator (and one of my mentors) Marty London, the presiding judge would ask Marty a bunch of questions about his boat and how the fishing had been lately. (Marty was an avid deep-sea fisherman.) I have to admit that it seemed kind of unfair to me at the time -

The event brought together 36 professionals and over 100 Columbia students to explore the skills, roles and projects driving sustainability today. In recent years, sustainability has become embedded in nearly every field; cities have become major climate employers and investors look for green portfolios. Across sectors, collaboration is essential and requires people who can translate between engineering and policy, finance and community needs. Events like the Sustainability Careers Reception create those connections in real time.

We live in a world moving at the speed of AI, where everything is changing all at once. As we streamline every aspect of life to be faster and more efficient, it only makes sense to modernize how we network. Before you overhaul your networking style, it's important to remember the fundamentals, then build on them with new skills. Networking is everywhere, all the time

The venture capital industry has long operated on a transactional model: evaluate the science, assess the team, write the check, and monitor progress through quarterly board meetings. This approach may work for software startups, but it fundamentally misaligns with biotechnology development realities. The path from laboratory breakthrough to FDA-approved therapy involves navigating regulatory mazes, recruiting specialized talent, and building relationships across interconnected scientific communities-challenges that capital alone cannot solve.

In the bright, brand-new lobby of a Back Bay advertising agency, a step-and-repeat bearing the city of Boston's seal is set up like a Fashion Week photo wall. Mayor Michelle Wu, cradling her infant daughter, leans in for snapshots with a steady stream of visitors: a woman in a crimson corduroy coat, another in a cardigan dotted with three-dimensional flowers.

Over the last two years, Cursor has grown from a cult hit to one of the most popular AI code editors in software development. The tool's developer, Anysphere, has raised over $1 billion and was recently valued at $9.9 billion, per PitchBook. On Tuesday, Cursor hosted a one-day café at The Lost Draft in SoHo. It's one of several in-person events that AI companies have created to satisfy loyal customers and increase their social media hype.

For as long as I can remember, I have found small talk problematic. It was boring at best and stressful at worst. A colleague commenting on the weather, when I could see for myself that it was raining. The postman asking: How are you today? An impossibly broad question to answer briefly. I worked in book publishing for years, where networking was essential. I could discuss authors, print runs or marketing budgets with ease.

In a world obsessed with titles, deadlines and success metrics, it's easy to lose sight of who we are and why we work. After 25 years as a lawyer, mentor and leader, I've seen how small acts of courage, kindness and self-belief can be far more "legendary" than any promotion. Here are five lessons I've learned along the way - all inspired by the legends, lessons and light-bulb moments shared in my book.